What effect is the Summit already having on W.Va.? Check out the newspaper

Scouts and Scouters aren’t the only ones counting down the days until the Summit opens.

(446, as of today!)

So, too, are the people of West Virginia, who stand to benefit greatly from having a national high-adventure base nearby.

That’s according to an editorial published this week in The Register-Herald, the daily newspaper based in nearby Beckley.

The editorial board says the value of the Summit Bechtel Reserve will be — and has already been — felt in many ways.

“Much has been said about the economic impact our region will realize from Boy Scouts establishing themselves here, especially with the National Jamboree next year,” the editors write. “But the payoff will be much more than just dollars, and it hasn’t waited for the 2013 event at all.”

The editorial highlights last year’s big SummitCorps project (subject of a Scouting magazine cover story), saying it “will have a lasting impact on our area, already known for its great outdoors activities.”

The work done during SummitCorps, the editors write, “would have taken up to 10 years if the same project would have been completed by the National Park Service staff.”

There’s even more to come as Scouts attending the 2013 National Scout Jamboree will contribute 300,000 hours of community service during the quadrennial event.

“The nearly 300 projects planned include wellness, green-friendly, infrastructure and arts and education,” according to the editorial.

We know Scouts and Scouters will be ready for the Summit’s grand opening next year, and The Register-Herald‘seditors want West Virginians to be ready, too.

“As the calendar keeps inching toward 2013, let’s make sure we’re ready to capitalize on what may be one of the best things to happen to southern West Virginia in decades.

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Bryan on Scouting is the official blog of Scouting magazine, a Boy Scouts of America publication. Scouting magazine is published five times a year and is received by 1 million registered adult volunteers.